July 27, 2018

When Brett Kavanaugh accepted the nomination for Supreme Court justice, he gave a lovely speech, full of admiration for women and children and minorities. The wealth of his rulings and dissents show that much of what he said was a farce. Possibly even his wife thought so too, from the look on her face.

Abortion – Garza v. Hargan (2017): The complete D.C. Circuit Court vacated an order preventing an undocumented pregnant teenager from having an abortion. Kavanaugh dissented with the statement that “the en banc majority … reflects a philosophy that unlawful immigrant minors have a right to immediate abortion on demand, not to be interfered with even by government efforts to help minors navigate what is undeniably a difficult situation by expeditiously transferring them to their sponsors.” The 17-year-old girl had been held prisoner without permission to see a doctor to keep her from having an abortion as the administration tried to postpone any decision until the fetus was too developed for the procedure.

Contraception – Priests for Life v. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (2016): When the D.C. Circuit Court refused to hear a case about employers opting out of birth control coverage by submitting a form, dissented because of the employers’ “religious privilege.” Filling out the form seemed to burden their exercise of religion. Kavanaugh’s view is that courts must accept, without question, any religious claim because any employer has the right to deny birth control coverage to their employees through insurance.

Healthcare – Seven Sky v. Holder (2011): In dissenting to the ruling that upheld the Affordable Care Act, Kavanaugh claimed the Anti-Injunction Act, “which carefully limits the jurisdiction of federal courts over tax-related matters.” He argued that a president is not required to enforce the ACA or any other law if he makes that choice. A pending lawsuit regarding the constitutionality of the ACA could be decided by the Supreme Court.

Voting Restrictions – South Carolina v. United States (2012): Kavanaugh wrote the opinion upholding South Carolina’s voter ID law opposed by the DOJ because of serious racial disparities in photo ID requirements blocking over 60,000 minority registered voters from the polls.

Discrimination – Howard v. Office of the Chief Administrative Officer of the U.S. House of Representatives (2013): Kavanaugh’s dissent in this case, if successful, would ban workers in congressional offices from suing on the basis of racism, sexual harassment, and retaliation. He also claimed in Miller v. Clinton (2012) that the State Department is exempt from being sued for age discrimination. In Rattigan v. Holder (2012), Kavanaugh dissented from the majority rule that a black FBI agent could pursue a case of inappropriate retaliation for filing a discrimination claim when the agency began a security investigation against him.

Hostility to Workers’ Rights – SeaWorld of Fla., LLC v. Perez (2014): Kavanaugh opposed a majority ruling upholding a safety citation after a trainer died while working with an orca that had previously killed three other trainers. He said that the government shouldn’t be responsible for protecting these workers. The nominee has a pattern of ruling against workers in other issues such as worker privacy and union disputes. In National Labor Relations Board v. CNN America, Inc. (2017) Judge Kavanaugh dissented from the majority opinion upholding a National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) order that CNN recognize and bargain with a worker’s union. and finding that CNN violated the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA”) by discriminating against union members in hiring. Another Kavanaugh dissent in National Federation of Federal Employees v. Vilsack (2012) called for drug testing despite the lack of policy. His majority ruling in American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO v. Gates (2007) could allow the Secretary of Defense to eviscerate collective bargaining.

Immigration – Fogo de Chao Inc. v. Department of Homeland Security (2014): The case agreed that specialized cultural knowledge regarding Brazilian-style cooking was valid for a temporary visa, but Kavanaugh wanted to exclude “any and all knowledge or skills … learned from family or community rather than in-company trainers.”

Gun ownership – Heller v. District of Columbia (2011):The ruling in the D.C. Circuit Court supported a law that prohibited assault weapons and high-capacity magazines and that required certain firearms to be registered. Kavanaugh dissented: “semi-automatic rifles, like semi-automatic handguns, have not traditionally been banned and are in common use by law-abiding citizens for self-defense in the home, hunting, and other lawful uses.” He also stated, “A ban on a class of arms is … equivalent to a ban on a category of speech.” The Supreme Court later overturned Heller.

Net Neutrality – United States Telecom Association v. FCC (2017): After a panel of judges ruled that internet service providers cannot discriminate among content providers, the D.C. Circuit Court refused to rehear the case. Kavanaugh dissented, claiming that the FCC should rely on the 1934 Communications Act which does not allow the FCC to regulate Internet service providers.” The FCC now permits this discrimination.

Environment – EME Homer City Generation, L.P. v. EPA (2012): Kavanaugh wrote the opinion in this decision that the EPA could not require companies to replace refrigerant chemicals of greenhouse gasses with more sustainable alternatives. In his dissent to White Stallion Energy Ctr. LLC v. EPA (2014), he stated that the EPA should have considered the cost to the power industry before regulating toxic air pollution. The Supreme Court cited his dissent when it reversed the D.C. Circuit Court’s ruling that had upheld the standards. In Howmet Corp. v. EPA (2010) Kavanaugh dissented from a decision to approve an EPA fine of over $300,000 against a company that had improperly shipped a corrosive chemical to be added to fertilizer without properly labelling it and taking other precautions to treat it as a hazardous waste.

Unlimited Campaign Donations – EMILY’s List v. Federal Election Commission (2009): Kavanaugh wrote the opinion that led to the creation of super PACs. In Independence Institute v. Federal Election Commission (2016), he wrote the opinion which Demos and Campaign Legal Center called “a novel theory that would limit disclosure based on a spender’s tax-status, a theory subsequently rejected by a three-judge court and the Supreme Court.”

“Judge Kavanaugh’s 12-year record on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, as well as his known writings, speeches, and legal career, demonstrate that if he were confirmed to the Supreme Court, he would be the fifth and decisive vote to undermine many of our core rights and legal protections. In case after case, he has ruled against individuals and the environment in favor of corporations, the wealthy, and the powerful. He has advanced extreme legal theories to overturn longstanding precedent to diminish the power of federal agencies to help people. And he has demonstrated an expansive view of presidential power that includes his belief that presidents should not be subject to civil suits or criminal investigations while in office despite what misconduct may have occurred.”

Putting Brett Kavanaugh on the Supreme Court can vastly increase the economic inequality in a nation where it is greater than at any time during almost a century, an equality marked by gender and race. Lack of healthcare in the United States has caused it to have a higher maternal mortality rate than any other developed country. Taking contraception from women keeps many of them from getting and keeping jobs, advancing their careers, furthering their education, and financially supporting themselves. The loss of contraception also produces higher abortion rates.

In the past century, unions have been responsible for decreasing income inequality. As the number of people in unions grew, so did the percentage of people in the middle class. The reverse is also true, especially for women who comprise the majority of public sector workers that Janus v. AFSCME has tried to destroy. The day after the Supreme Court decision allowed workers to have union benefits without charge, it authorized crisis pregnancy centers (CPCs) to continue to lie to women about their services and the dangers of abortions. Two weeks later, the current administration proposed prevention of home care workers unions.

Brett Kavanaugh is part of the conservative strategy to demolish the structure that attempts to protect the well-being of women and families, the foundation for the United States’ economy and democracy. Gone will be reproductive rights for women, safety and privacy rights for workers, union rights, individual rights, immigration rights, voting rights, religious rights, a clean environment, etc. Big business will be god, and the president will be above the law.

With Kavanaugh as justice—or someone like him—the Supreme Court will be a disaster for the nation.

April 26: Failure to pass his budget that was postponed for another seven day

April 28: Failure put Trumpcare up for a vote.

April 29: People’s Climate March.

And much more!

DDT has been inspirational for country although he failed to pass any legislation, and almost all of his 30 executive orders were toothless–just setting up reviews or making comments. Others were blocked by the courts. The Guardian describes DDT’s signatures on “25 executive orders, 24 memorandums and 20 proclamations” during his first 93 days as “more cosmetic than substantive.”

The emphasis on the first 100 days of a U.S. president began with Franklin D. Roosevelt who faced a country in crisis on his first day, compared to DDT who inherited a growing economy and shrinking unemployment. A week after his inauguration, FDR reopened the banks and then restored public confidence in financial institutions with the Glass-Stegall Act, overturned 20 years ago. In his first 100 days, FDR signed 15 major pieces of legislation to alleviate the suffering in the nation and went on to create 250,000 jobs with the Civilian Conservation Corps and the predecessor of Social Security with the Federal Emergency Relief Act. His early successes led to the federal minimum wage, federal employees’ rights to unionize, the SEC, the Labor Relations Board, and on and on.

President Obama also inherited a disaster after the gigantic losses caused by George W. Bush’s tax cuts for the wealthy and expenditures for two enduring wars. A stimulus plan to stop the horrific loss of jobs and increases in home foreclosures was passed in eight days, and President Obama moved on to pass a budget resolution and major legislation on worker’s rights and health care that had been stalled or vetoed under Bush. At President Obama’s 100-day mark, polls showed an approval rate of 65 percent with only 29 percent disapproval.

What DDT has done:

Bombed two countries without provocation and alienated at least nine allies.

Overturned most of his promises for the “first 100 days” and charted up the greatest number of flip-flops.

Achieved the lowest approval rate during this time of any other president.

Collected a cabinet full of members who universally work to overturn their agencies’ missions.

Continued making money off his businesses in violation of the constitution’s emoluments clause.

Lost at least 16 of his nominations and hirings because of ethics problems, Breitbart smears, or “disloyalty.”

Revoked several orders from President Obama such as now giving “hunters” permission to kill bear cubs in their dens during hibernation while on federal lands.

Spent more on personal travel in less than 70 days than President Obama did in eight years.

“The 12 weeks since January 20 have seen more scandal, international incidents, incompetence, instability, lies and jaw-dropping embarrassments than the previous 12 years combined. America is threatened as it has never been before.”

Mark Sumners list of DDT’s “Bans, Bombs, and Chocolate Cake” shows that no modern president has promised more and provided less. He sees his work as occasionally talking with foreign leaders, signing orders, and leaving all his responsibilities to others–primarily his son-in-law Jared Kushner. DDT’s total accomplishment has been to create a culture in U.S. leadership, law enforcement, and society of cruelty, polarization, and fabrication of facts while putting a person with the same philosophy on the Supreme Court. People in the United States now live in an atmosphere of hatred, fear, violence, and prejudice.

DDT promised to do the following on his first day: repealing President Obama’s healthcare, fixing the VA, putting a 35-percent tariff on companies that move offshore, designating China a currency manipulator, reverse every Obama executive order, propose a Constitutional Amendment to impose term limits on all members of Congress, and starting work on the wall. He promised a plan to defeat ISIS within 30 days. DDT reversed his opinion on China, signed one executive order on the VA, failed to repeal the health car, and has only enough money to build seven miles of the 2,000-mile wall. There is no plan to defeat ISIS.

On the campaign trail DDT described the United States as a dystopia and said that he would “make America great again” so quickly that “your head will spin.” People will get tired of winning, he claimed, but “I alone can fix it.” The only problem in the nation, according to DDT, was the problem of “stupid” leaders who didn’t know how simple these issues are. DDT discovered after his inauguration that some of these issues were “hard” and “complicated,” so much so that he has no legislative victory during his first 100 days even with a GOP-controlled Congress. There is no winning yet.

DDT’s economic plans are tax cuts for the rich, deregulation for the powerful, and wage suppressions the rest of the people. His overarching goal is to create the dystopia that he described. His white supremacist adviser Steve Bannon promised to “deconstruct” the United States, and the result is to destroy the essence of the nation by blending kleptocracy, government by leaders seeking only wealth and power, and kakistocracy, government by the worst leaders. EPA Secretary Scott Pruitt is a prime example because he plans to return the U.S. to a land of contaminated water and smog-filled air—in short, a plan unfit for habitation. DDT’s friend Carl Icahn picked Pruitt for the job because Pruitt opposed an ethanol rule that cost one of Icahn’s refineries over $200 million a year. Pruitt had already sued the EPA 14 times, 13 of them on behalf of his campaign donors and workers. DDT’s budget director, Mick Mulvaney, says that climate science expenditures are “a waste of money…. We’re not spending money on that anymore.” DDT tried to build his supporter base by executive orders with the promise of bringing back coal jobs, but a few thousand jobs weren’t enough to raise his approval rating.

Secretary of Energy Rick Perry, who vowed to do away with the agency if he could remember its name, administrated one of the worst states in the nation in terms of health and education. Texas’ schools are among the worst in the nation, and the rates of teen mothers and uninsured people are among the highest. Perry is a strong supporter of pipelines; the two approved will provide 75 permanent jobs but create billions in losses for taxpayers from oil spills.

The latest Gallup poll gives DDT 41-percent approval rating, the lowest at this time of any presidency since polling on this issue started. Almost half of respondents—45 percent—told an NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll that DDT is off to a “poor start” in office. Forty percent said “good” or “great” start compared to 54 percent who said the same thing about President Obama for his first 100 days. Only 25% of people in a NBC News poll consider Trump honest and trustworthy, and only 27 percent consider him “knowledgeable and experienced enough to handle the presidency.” Only 21 percent said he had the “right temperament.” Fifty-seven percent said that the government should do more to solve problems compared to the 39 percent who think government does too much—the most progressive response since the poll began asking the question 20 years ago. About having his daughter and son-in-law in his administration, 61 percent disapprove.

Yes, DDT, no other administration did more in the first 90 days in vulgarity, lying, fraud, uncaring ignorance, and vindictiveness. He doesn’t even have the courage to go to the White House Correspondents’ Dinner today; instead he’s holding a rally to campaign for 2020. Peter Dreier pointed out on The Nation, DDT revitalized Alec Baldwin’s career and expanded Melissa McCarthy’s visibility on Saturday Night Live.